Simon Yates has spoken about he and twin brother Adam’s decision in late 2013 to choose to go pro with Orica Greenedge over Team Sky.

"I wanted to learn how to race. I don’t think when you’re working at the front, you’re learning how to race," Simon Yates, who is expected to race the Tour with his brother this year, told Reuters in an interview ahead of the Liege-Bastogne-Liege classic.

"You might get stronger because you ride in the front all the time but you don’t learn how to race, you don’t see how the guys who win races race, you don’t see how they win.”

Despite Simon putting in some good performances in the Basque Country and Romandie, where he is currently racing, he says he is a long way from challenging the best for a Grand Tour.

"The older guys are racing for the Tour, I’m on a different schedule. It still feels a long way away to be a contender in a grand tour."